Swap/Alternate Ignition Key Usage WTF???

[bmwrich58]

A buddy of mine told me that I should alternate the use of all the keys that came with the bike including the plastic one. Otherwise the keys will lose their ability to be read by the antanna ring.

Now to me I think "Bull$h!*".

This is the first I've ever heard about. And if TRUE,why not stated in the Manual or instructed by the Dealer.


I have cars with this "anti-theaft chip" in key and don't alternate between use and have not had any starting issues in over 100,000 miles.

Has anybody else heard of this $h!t?

 

[EggChaser]

Not heard that one before, however my car one got messed up by a service when they left the battery disconnected for too long, as the dealer only had one key they could only recode the one key afterwards. I had to get the other key sorted later - can imagine that there is potential for the BMW keys to suffer from that if something resets the coding.

 

[VAL. H.]

A buddy of mine told me that I should alternate the use of all the keys that came with the bike including the plastic one. Otherwise the keys will lose their ability to be read by the antanna ring.

Now to me I think "Bull$h!*".

This is the first I've ever heard about. And if TRUE,why not stated in the Manual or instructed by the Dealer.


I have cars with this "anti-theaft chip" in key and don't alternate between use and have not had any starting issues in over 100,000 miles.

Has anybody else heard of this $h!t?

What's the plastic key for, why is it there and is it actualy coded?


BTW I think your mate has a hole in the top of his hat

 

[cookie]

What's the plastic key for, why is it there and is it actualy coded?

it's a smaller, wallet friendly spare.

it's there in case you need a smaller, wallet friendly spare.

yes, it's coded. not much use if it wasn't.

 

[bustupbiker]

it's a smaller, wallet friendly spare.

it's there in case you need a smaller, wallet friendly spare.

yes, it's coded. not much use if it wasn't.

Sorry to say Cookie that my plastic key is NOT coded,
tested it one day and got the EWS on screen and no starty...

I had to use the gs-911 to reset the puter as the EWS would not go
even after i had started the bike with the normal key.

 

[rick]

Your plastic key should be coded. If it is not working then I would suggest that it is either faulty, or for some reason not matched to the bike.

Going back to the original question. I have never heard of having to alternate between keys. I do however think that it is a good idea to occasionally check that they are all working, as you don't want to find out your spare's faulty when you're miles from home and you've lost the key.

 

[Sigster]

BMW car keys should be used regularly

The battery for the remote lock/unlock feature gets charged when key's in the ignition. So says the manual.


Siggi

 

[cookie]

Sorry to say Cookie that my plastic key is NOT coded,

mine is.

 

[MIKA]

Was told by a dealer a few years ago that the keys should be swapped over at regular intervals, they suggested every six months, to ensure the vehicle always recognised the key and that the key was working properly to save any potential problems when you actually needed the spare.

Been in the habit of doing this with every car and bike since and never had any problems with any key...plenty of problems in the first few months of GS ownership with the damn flat battery problems that so many of us have encountered though!!

 

[wilbjr21]

Sorry to say Cookie that my plastic key is NOT coded,
tested it one day and got the EWS on screen and no starty...

I had to use the gs-911 to reset the puter as the EWS would not go
even after i had started the bike with the normal key.

Mine is coded too.

How do you reset the computer (ECU ?) with the GS 911 ?................all you can do, with the current level of software, is reset logged error codes. If a fault is still present it will tell you.

 

[D6]

The battery for the remote lock/unlock feature gets charged when key's in the ignition. So says the manual.


Siggi

yup, tells u in my 320 manual

 

[bustupbiker]

Mine is coded too.

How do you reset the computer (ECU ?) with the GS 911 ?................all you can do, with the current level of software, is reset logged error codes. If a fault is still present it will tell you.

Thats what i ment, reset the error codes.......

 

[wilbjr21]

Thats what i ment, reset the error codes.......

Well that proves you've got a useless piece of plastic........ A dealer will be able to code your key to the bike and make it useful (assuming that it's not faulty).